Tag: 2016 goals

OK, so I haven’t visited for a while. I figured on just stopping the blog completely in 2014/2015 but I figured I needed somewhere to plan 2016 and this offered itself up as a location!

I didn’t really set myself goals in 2015 but let’s have a look and see how I did against 2014’s.

2015 in Review

1. Family & Friends: Make time for them and make this a priority

This year has been difficult on family and friends front.

Uncle Ken passed away early in the year. It was devastating for all the cousins since for most of us, he was the last link with the parent (whether father or mother) we have lost, and for the older cousins an era with Nana and Granddad that they remember more than my sister and I. The funeral was lovely – packed church, a great coffin hand-painted with a cricket scene and a nice wake at the cricket club to follow. In many ways, he was already gone and had been when the tumour did its damage, and so it felt like a relief for him that he was in a better place; that he was no longer stuck in a home and the inactivity his physical condition imprisoned him with. But I miss him. I miss him a lot.

I managed to get to my sister’s for her birthday so that was a win. My sister and her partner are facing some challenges and so towards the end of the year we’ve seen a great deal of my sister; Christmas and she’s due to spend the next weekend with us.

Dad continues to spend a great deal of time in Mauritius and I did fail to get there this last year due to a poorly kidney and then exhaustion. I must make a concerted effort this year as seeing him in the UK alone means that we’ve hardly spent any time together, especially as I retreat to my room to prevent the cognitive drain of constant noise – he usually has either the TV or radio on.

On the friends front, I did badly but I think I’m doing better; my best friend and I get together fairly regular and we now include our other mutual Uni friend on at least one weekend. I’ve established a good friendship with a friend at my old workplace which I think will lead to semi-regular lunches/cinema trips/etc. I’ve kept in contact with an old school friend and we both enjoy boozy lunches so…altogether not bad but really I could do with getting out more.

Balancing my life between work and play is something of an ongoing battle within me. Unfortunately as work gets very busy and I spend time being conscientious and putting additional hours in, my energy levels just don’t have enough juice in them to accommodate spending time with friends and family. Clearly I need to rebalance.

2. Write More: I’d like to complete the epic story I’m working on but beyond that simply write for fun!

Well, I completely failed here. I’ve hardly written anything. Which is kind of not true as I have written over 150,000 words here and there – there’s just not a great deal of completed work to show for it.

The epic fanfic remains that – unfinished although we are almost there. I want to finish off a fanfic I started in 2014 and which is also almost there. And, I want to return to finish my Aftershocks fanfic series.

Beyond that, I have the outline of two novels I want to write and self-publish and a non-fiction book on leadership. I really need to ensure I create time for writing.

3. Financial stability

Short term: think about finding something else to bring in money

Well, I left my old place (let’s call them ABC). Let’s just say that between the outdated HR policies, the lack of understanding around my disability and the pace of the business (there was never a moment to take a breath), I wasn’t sad to leave. There were some great people there though and I hope they find continued success.

Short term wise I have found another job. The new organisation is much more supportive on the disability front although the pace has been frenetic because of an ongoing project and deadlines as soon as I started. I’m hoping things settle down in the New Year. That said, I’m concerned that it won’t be a long term option as I’m not seeing the need for my role long term.

Long term: focus on what I really want to do and make it happen!

I’d like to get my Masters and Doctorate in psychology and go into academia. It’s just configuring how I make that happen when I’m working full time and barely have enough energy for family, friends and writing as it is.